Solutions

Picture a typical supply chain management task at a grocery store. To create a current inventory, employees are sent out into the aisles to count the products by hand and create paper lists of what the store needs to order.

You might ask, “Why can’t we just collect data from customer purchases at the cash registers and subtract it from the inventory automatically?”

This is just one of the ways in which blockchain technology can make supply chain management more efficient. Imagine owning a chain of stores and having microscopic insight into exactly what was on the shelves of every store automatically. Better data in supply chain management means more efficiency and higher sales volume, because you are better able to quickly adjust to trends in sales.

Banks have no special technology for sending and receiving value. If you wire money to someone, your two banks have to work together to coordinate the transfer. Blockchain technology can securely facilitate financial transfers. With smart contract technology, any financial service you can think of, such as a small business loan, can be easily structured on the blockchain.

Blockchain technology will revolutionize the way we invest money. Consider the art market. It’s reliably profitable year over year. A masterpiece by Van Gogh has an intrinsic value which stably increases as time goes on. However, this investment opportunity is closed to all but the very rich. But what if a large group of people could pool their resources to purchase a Van Gogh? You might only own a small portion of the painting but it would likely be a reliable investment. The data required to create this type of opportunity would be nearly impossible to coordinate in traditional information systems, but this type of tracking is a basic function of blockchain technology.

Blockchain technology is completely transparent and "trustless." This means that a pool of investors can always check the value of their small piece of the Van Gogh themselves. Both trust and the complex calculations required to create this kind of investment opportunity are handled by the blockchain.

The Paris Climate Accords have called for every participating country to track exact amounts of carbon produced by their citizens and move within the next few years towards carbon net zero. Countries will need to come together as a group and report their carbon use to each other. How do we trust the reports? How do we track an entire nation’s carbon use down to each individual? Blockchain is the obvious solution to these questions and will be an important part of the international carbon zero effort. The urgency of this global problem couldn’t be greater.

With adoption of solar panel technology by individual homeowners, there is a following need for local, or neighborhood electrical infrastructure. Imagine owning a solar roof and then being able to supply power to your neighbors when you generate excess watts. A system of exchange will be needed to facilitate local energy exchange. Blockchain is the only viable solution.

Recycling is important but it is not, and has never been profitable. In the past year, China has refused to keep accepting recycling from other nations, no longer willing to be the world's "dumping ground." Because of this, although recycling programs continue around the world, most recyclables have no where to go and pile up at the recylcing plants. The solution to this problem will be the emergence of local recycle / reuse programs, in which local start-up companies process recyclables into new products while rewarding recyclers. Blockchain is the only technology capable of tracking and incentivizing transactions of this kind.

Imagine supply-chain tracking in infinite detail, where every pill is accounted for. Right now, an elderly patient might be taking numerous medications prescribed by different doctors that have harmful interactions. Only an in-person review of all of this patient’s prescriptions by a careful doctor can reveal this problem. With blockchain, monitoring harmful interactions would be automatic. This information could be flagged by the system for a doctor’s review instantaneously. Blockchain could be used to set up a buy back program, where patients are credited for returning unused drugs. By making the delivery of medicine more efficient and locking down the pharmaceutical supply chain, blockchain can help create a healthier and safer society.

When a donation is made to charity often very little of the money given reaches those in need, instead it might be diverted into the business operations of the charity, or funnelled somewhere else.

Yes, non-profits need to rely on donations for their operational costs, but, as a donor, wouldn’t you like to know that your money goes right to the people that need it? Blockchain is secure, transparent and can track the dispersal of funds in any amount. An Irish company called AID:Tech is already using blockchain technology to reveal exactly how much of each individual donation directly impacts the recipients. https://aid.technology

Government waste is no secret. We find it splashed across the headlines when governmental funds are misappropriated. Better tracking of governmental resources can preempt these problems. Imagine an immutable database where every single dollar is trackable at a glance. Blockchain technology can save millions of dollars by increasing efficiency and securing financial transactions within government operations.

Blockchain Technology at a Glance

Immutable —entries can never be changed.

Unhackable —transactions form blocks and each block contains all previous blocks. Multiple nodes verify all the blocks independently.

Fast —Blockchain technology has come a long way in 10 years. The bitcoin network is capable of around 3-8 transactions per second. The technology behind EUROPECHAIN averages at 5,000 transactions per second.

Efficiency —with smart contract technology blockchain can power and verify any form of exchange, eliminating many information management tasks which are now done by hand.

Savings —make your information systems more secure and more efficient whilst reinvesting the money you save back into your business. Free your employees to spend more time with clients and less time on data entry.